Model comparison
C4ai Aya Expanse 8b vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.7 to 34.3 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 14 shared benchmarks.
Cohere
StepFunSummary
- They share 14 benchmarks with published results for both. C4ai Aya Expanse 8b scores higher in 1 category and Step 3.5 Flash in 7 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 59.0 to 39.2.
- Step 3.5 Flash accepts more context: 256K tokens versus 8K.
Side by side
| C4ai Aya Expanse 8b | Step 3.5 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Cohere | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 34.3 | 41.7 |
| Released | 2024-10-24 | 2026-01-29 |
| Weights | Open | Open |
| Context window | 8K | 256K |
| Max output | 4K | 256K |
| Input $ / M tokens | — | $0.10 |
| Output $ / M tokens | — | $0.30 |
| Results tracked | 15 | 19 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 3.5 Flash leads
C4ai Aya Expanse 8b: 33.2 (#252), Step 3.5 Flash: 41.7 (#106)
| Benchmark | C4ai Aya Expanse 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1161 | 1436 |
Reasoning Too close to call
C4ai Aya Expanse 8b: 21.4 (#198), Step 3.5 Flash: 21.2 (#202)
| Benchmark | C4ai Aya Expanse 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1156 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
Math Step 3.5 Flash leads
C4ai Aya Expanse 8b: 30.8 (#204), Step 3.5 Flash: 40.6 (#77)
| Benchmark | C4ai Aya Expanse 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1168 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
Knowledge Step 3.5 Flash leads
C4ai Aya Expanse 8b: 33.0 (#197), Step 3.5 Flash: 39.0 (#127)
| Benchmark | C4ai Aya Expanse 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1153 | 1422 |
| Vectara Hallucination Rate | 9.5% | — |
Multilingual Step 3.5 Flash leads
C4ai Aya Expanse 8b: 36.3 (#237), Step 3.5 Flash: 50.7 (#115)
| Benchmark | C4ai Aya Expanse 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1180 | 1386 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1181 | 1448 |
| LMArena German | 1188 | 1404 |
| LMArena Japanese | 1120 | 1353 |
| LMArena Russian | 1197 | 1385 |
| LMArena French | — | 1421 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1350 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1419 |
Instruction Following Step 3.5 Flash leads
C4ai Aya Expanse 8b: 60.4 (#248), Step 3.5 Flash: 73.3 (#119)
| Benchmark | C4ai Aya Expanse 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1155 | 1385 |
Long Context Step 3.5 Flash leads
C4ai Aya Expanse 8b: 36.1 (#231), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#112)
| Benchmark | C4ai Aya Expanse 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1192 | 1402 |
Writing & Preference Step 3.5 Flash leads
C4ai Aya Expanse 8b: 39.2 (#245), Step 3.5 Flash: 59.0 (#108)
| Benchmark | C4ai Aya Expanse 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1185 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1168 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1160 | 1405 |
Frequently asked questions
Is C4ai Aya Expanse 8b better than Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.7 to 34.3 on the Noometry Index.
Is C4ai Aya Expanse 8b or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?
Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 41.7 versus 33.2 in the Noometry coding category.
Which has the bigger context window?
Step 3.5 Flash does, with 256K tokens against 8K.
How many benchmarks do C4ai Aya Expanse 8b and Step 3.5 Flash share?
14 benchmarks have published results for both models. C4ai Aya Expanse 8b has 15 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.